Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It is right for the government to highlight the importance of regular testing. Last term saw record numbers off with confirmed Covid and it is clear that more needs to be done to control the spread. Regular testing is certainly a sensible part of the response, but we believe that there is more that should be being done.

“The delivery of Co2 monitors needs to be accelerated – too many schools are still waiting for these devices to be delivered. We also need the government to be far more proactive about actually improving ventilation. The DfE announced it would be trialling the use of air purifiers in August but we have seen nothing since. Changes should be made to close contact isolation rules so that siblings of those who have tested positive for Covid don’t continue to go into school and infect others. We also need a track and trace system that is working effectively.

“Testing is clearly important but it’s not a silver bullet. Investment and guidance needs to be there for all the different measures we have available to us: testing, vaccination, isolation, and ventilation. Only by pursuing a wide-ranging precautionary approach can we prevent illness from continuing to disrupt education this term.”